Centered on Mount Daisen, Tottori’s Little Fuji, this route links Shoji Ueda Museum of Photography, Milk no Sato, Tottori Hanakairo Flower Park, and bakeries at the mountain’s base for an easy overview of where to go, eat, and stay.
Around Mt. Daisen: 7 Places to See, Eat and Stay in Tottori's Little Europe
Shoji Ueda Museum of Photography Designed by architect Shin Takamatsu, the Shoji Ueda Museum of Photography is a minimalist exposed-concrete building. Its use of light, shadow and reflections on water gives it a mood that recalls Tadao Ando. The location is extraordinary: the museum faces the beautifully conical form of Mt. Daisen, with terraced fields layered in the foreground. The scenery changes by season, from rice fields to sunflowers and rapeseed blossoms. Visiting in mid-August, we found rows of sunflowers adding bright color to the museum's quiet concrete tones. 齊哥的食旅探go (Qi Ge de Shi Lü Tan Go) Read the article Daisen Makiba Milk no Sato If you love Japanese milk, this ranch should be on your Tottori list. My personal favorites include Kumamoto's Aso volcanic milk, Hokkaido's Yoro milk and Tottori's Daisen White Rose milk. At Daisen Makiba Milk no Sato, come for the signature White Rose milk soft serve, cream puffs, cakes, milk hot pot, milk curry and every possible dairy temptation. 小虎食夢網 (Xiao Hu Shi Meng Wang) Read the article Daisen Ham Terrace the Daisen The Shoji Ueda Museum of Photography is a classic stop in Hoki, though its location is slightly remote and the museum itself has little food beyond vending-machine drinks. Fortunately, Terrace the Daisen opened near the entrance in September 2022. It is a place to sit down for locally made German-style food and coffee, with the same open view toward Mt. Daisen at 1,729 meters and the terraced fields below. 齊哥的食旅探go (Qi Ge de Shi Lü Tan Go) A Country Bakery at the Foot of Mt. Daisen Near Daisen Makiba Milk no Sato is a small mountain bakery with a European countryside feel: Kosaji Bakery. Its name means "little teaspoon." It is only a five- or six-minute drive from the ranch, and Mt. Daisen is visible from the entrance. Although it sits deep in the hills, customers kept arriving during our visit, a clear sign of its local pull. A Night Under the Mountain This is one of the best places I know for seeing the Milky Way in Tottori, and it sits at the foot of Mt. Daisen, one of Japan's excellent camping areas. The site is run by a camping brand familiar to outdoor fans and opened its first lodging-style campsite in Japan on April 28, 2023. We were lucky to stay just before the official opening, so consider this an early look at a new Tottori camping destination. 小虎食夢網 (Xiao Hu Shi Meng Wang) Tottori Hanakairo Flower Park Before leaving Tottori, we visited Tottori Hanakairo, a large flower park at the foot of Mt. Daisen and a sister park of Keukenhof in the Netherlands. The park offers views of the mountain, a one-kilometer covered walkway, a large glass greenhouse and flower-filled scenery in every direction. MIKA出走美食日誌 (MIKA Chu Zou Meishi Rizhi) Autumn Leaves at Daisenji Temple Mt. Daisen is larger than I imagined, and its autumn foliage is richer and more beautiful than expected. What was meant to be a two-hour stop turned into nearly a whole morning of photography. In almost four hours, we only made it from the parking lot to Daisenji Temple, following what felt like an L-shaped blue line while slipping again and again into corridors of red leaves. The rest will have to wait for another year.